Sunday 13 August 2023

Psalm 85

Background

There’s a hymn which begins ‘Jesus calls us o’er the tumult of our life’s wild restless sea.’ (StF 250)

In today’s reading, Jesus does call his disciples in the midst of the wild and restless sea. But where the hymn implies that Jesus’ call draws us away from tumult, Matthew’s story suggests that he sends his disciples into it. The text says that Jesus "made the disciples get into the boat" (v. 22). A better translation of the original verb would be ‘to force’ or ‘to compel’. Jesus didn’t give his friends a choice: he compelled them to get into the boat and leave him alone with the crowd.

It might trouble us if we think the reading shows Jesus deliberately exposing his disciples to danger. Some context here might help: the first part of chapter 14 of Matthew's Gospel (verses 1-21) recounts the messy power-play within the family of Herod which led to the execution of John the Baptist, who had baptised Jesus at the start of his public ministry, and Jesus’ attempts to withdraw from the crowds after being told the news. The crowds follow him; he responds with understanding, and heals and feeds them. So the urgency with which Matthew’s Gospel remembers and recounts Jesus sending away the disciples might relate to his continuing need for solitude. He also dismisses the crowds once the disciples have set sail (v. 23) and climbs a mountain to pray.

But equally, the gospel writer may be recounting the force and necessity of Jesus making his disciples set out onto the lake because of what happened there. In the midst of chaos and tumult, Jesus is seen and known for who he is. The repeated question; ‘Who is this?’ in relation to Jesus is a feature of all four gospels. In a strikingly similar story earlier in Matthew's Gospel – Jesus asleep in a boat in a storm and then calming the waves and wind (8:23-27) – the disciples ask "Who is this man?" (8:27). In today’s passage, they answer that question: "Truly you are the Son of God" (v. 33). The paradox is that it is because they encounter him in the midst of struggling against the tumult that they know him. They know Jesus' power, compassion, capacity to save, and utter trustworthiness have their ultimate source in God.

To Ponder:

• Have you ever experienced knowing who Jesus is in a new way because of an experience of struggle or turmoil?
• How might God be inviting you to respond to him and trust him more deeply in your current life circumstances?